ORATORY 

ITS  REQUIREMENTS  AND  ITS  REWARDS 


BY 


JOHN  P.  ALTGELD 


CHICAGO 
CHARLES  H.  KERR  &  COMPANY 

56  FIFTH  AVENUE 
1901 


Copyright,  1901,    - 
By  JOHN  P.  ALTGELD. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Page 

Oratory 7 

Knowledge  8 

Language  9 

Arrangement   10 

Delivery — Action    12 

Gesture  13 

Voice 15 

Articulation    20 

Writing  of  Speeches 21 

Message  to  Audience 27 

Newspapers    27 

Breakfast-Table  Audience 29 

Literary  Excellence , 30 

Demosthenes 31 

Utilitarian   Talk 35 

Abstemiousness    3$ 

Hospitality   41 

Handshaking   42 

Clothes 43 

Censorship  of  Speeches 43 

Lawyers 45 

Great  Subject — Pettifogging 47 

Justice,  not  Expediency , 49 

Rewards    51 

Is  Oratory  Dying  ? 53 

Democracy 54 

Oratory  Develops  Oratory 57 

Repetition -.  58 

Pericles    60 

Conclusion* 65 

£50519 


ORATORY 

1T5  REQUIREI1ENTS  AND  ITS  REWARDS. 


Oratory  is  the  greatest  art  known  to  man 
and  embraces  a  number  of  great  arts. 

In  music  tradition  furnishes  the  ideas.  The 
poet  clothes  them  in  words.  The  composer 
sets  these  to  music,  and  the  singer  renders 
them  into  song. 

The  orator  must  be  able  to  do  all  of  these 
things. 

He  must  furnish  the  ideas,  he  must  clothe  * 
them  in  words,  he  must  give  these  a  rhythmic  v 
arrangement,  and  he  must  deliver  them  with 
all  the  care  with  which  a  singer  sings  a  song: 

Each  of  these  elements  is  of  supreme  im- 
portance. The  ideas  must  be  bright  and  seem 
alive.  The  language  must  be  chaste  and  ex- 
pressive. The  arrangement  must  be  logical, 


'$       <'•;•:     /      ORATORY. 

Natural  arid  'effective.  There  must  be  a  natural 
unfolding  of  the  subject-matter. 

The  delivery  requires  as  much  attention  to 
voice  and  action  as  is  given  by  a  singer. 

Labor  is  the  foster  mother  of  oratory,  and 
no  man  has  risen  to  eminence  as  an  orator 
without  great  labor. 

KNOWLEDGE. 

The  orator  must  have  a  general  knowledge 
of  history,  of  literature,  of  religion,  of  the 
sciences,  of  human  nature,  and  of  affairs. 

He  must  have  a  full  and  special  knowledge 
of  the  subject  he  attempts  to  discuss. 

He  must  present  new  ideas,  or  old  ideas  in 
a  new  light.  And  they  must  be  lofty  ideas, 
that  appeal  to  the  nobler  sentiments  of  men. 

Mind  must  commune  with  mind  and  soul 
must  talk  to  soul,  or  there  is  no  oratory.  The 
soul  of  the  speaker  and  the  soul  of  the  audi- 
ence must  become  one. 


ORATOR  9 

LANGUAGE. 

The  intelligent  people  of  America  use  rea- 
sonably pure  English. 

If  the  speaker  falls  below  this  level  he 
simply  disgusts.  If  he  only  stands  on  this 
level  he  may  be  tolerated  but  will  ga*ther  no 
laurels.  Men  may  say,  "He  makes  a  strong 
talk/'  but  this  is  all.  It  is  not  oratory. 

If  he  would  delight  and  chain  his  audience 
so  that  the  doors  of  the  soul  may  be  thrown 
open  to  him,  his  language  must  have  the  charm 
of  superior  excellence.  His  words  must  be 
simple,  pure,  chaste  and  crystalline — his  sen- 
tences clear,  epigrammatic  and  sparkling,  and 
his  arrangement  logical,  forceful  and  climac- 
teric. 

In  attempting  to  acquire  a  superior  com- 
mand of  language  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  woi'ds  are  only  the  expression  of  thoughts, 
and  where  the  thoughts  are  coarse  or  careless, 
and  not  well  arranged,  elegance  of  language 
is  impossible. 


IO  ORATORY. 

On  the  other  hand  elevation  of  thought  pro- 
duces^  elevation  of  language.  Studying  the 
stars  and  contemplating  nature  prepare  the  soul 
for  great  things. 

A  familiarity  with  polite  literature  is  also 
essential  and  experience  has  taught  that  the 
reading  and  digesting  each  day  of  a  half  page 
or  a  page  of  some  classic  author,  so  as  to  im- 
bibe his  spirit  and  assimilate  his  words,  will 
by  degrees  give  elegance  of  diction  and  purity 
and  strength  of  expression. 

It  is  necessary  to  avoid  slang  and  to  be  care- 
ful as  to  our  use  of  words  in  daily  intercourse. 
By  degrees  we  can  acquire  an  entirely  new 
vocabulary. 

ARRANGEMENT. 

Arrangement  is  the  third  essential  of  ora- 
tory. Without  it  the  effort  is  lost. 

The  subject-matter  should  be  treated  from 
the  point  from  which  it  naturally  unfolds  or 


ORATORY.  'II 

develops.  Start  with  the  trunk  of  the  tree, 
and  then  take  up  one  branch  after  another  so 
that  the  casual  hearer  can  get  a  general  idea 
of  the  whole  subject,  and  then  of  its  different 
branches,  and  see  just  what  relations  they  bear 
to  each  other. 

The  heavy,  the  statistical  and  historical  parts 
of  the  subject  should  come  early  and  form 
the  foundation  on  which  to  build.  Then  the 
different  branches  must  be  arranged  with  ref- 
erence to  strength  and  climax — using  the 
strongest  toward  the  last. 

It  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  while 
facts  are  addressed  to  the  intellect,  sentiment 
alone  can  stir  the  soul. 

An  audience  will  swallow  a  whole  library 
of  statistics  or  arguments  unmoved — while  one 
divine  flash  will  stir  it  to  its  depths. 

To  prevent  facts  or  arguments  from  becom- 
ing too  dry  and  heavy,  they  must  be  garnished 
with  epigrams  whose  wit  enlivens  or  whose 


12  ORATORY. 

sentiment  inspires.  That  the  audience  may 
leave  in  high  spirit,  the  close  or  peroration 
must  appeal  to  the  soul  and  not  to  the  senses. 
It  must  point  to  the  skies  and  picture  the  ever- 
lasting. 

DELIVERY—ACTION. 

But  when  all  has  been  said,  delivery — ac- 
tion— is  the  vital  essence  of  oratory.  With- 
out effective  delivery  the  ideas,  the  language 
and  the  arrangement  are  all  in  vain.  There 
must  be  no  trilling  of  the  r's,  no  drawl — no 
tremor — no  affectation. 

Every  word  must  be  uttered  with  the  right 
volume  of  voice,  the  right  pitch,  the  right  in- 
flection ;  and  every  sentence  must  have  the  right 
cadence.  And  to  these  must  be  added  the 
earnestness  that  comes  from  a  burning  soul. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  woman  ought  not  to 
sing  unless  her  heart  is  breaking;  and  it  is  cer- 


ORATORY.  13 

tainly  true  that  no  man  can  rise  to  the  heights 
of  oratory  unless  his  soul  is  on  fire. 

The  feet  of  the  orator  must  walk  in  the 
sun  and  every  fiber  in  his  body  must  speak 
to  the  audience,  not  in  rant,  or  quaver,  but  in 
the  simple  fervor  of  the  patriot. 

GESTURE. 

No  rule  can  be  given  to  determine  when, 
where  and  how  to  gesture,  except  possibly  the 
general  one — be  natural. 

Gesture  is  a  part  of  the  art  of  expression, 
and,  when  used  without  meaning,  it  simply 
mars  the  performance. 

Art  will  not  admit  of  the  unnecessary.  From 
the  standpoint  of  art  it  is  no  more  permissi- 
ble to  have  unnecessary  gestures  in  a  speech 
than  it  is  to  have  unnecessary  notes  in  a  song. 

Many  a  fine  speech  falls  short  of  oratory 
because  its  delivery  is  marred  by  meaningless 
gestures. 


14  ORATORY. 

Thrashing  the  air  with  the  hands  and  tear- 
ing a  passion  is  a  part  of  rant  but  not  of  art. 

There  should  be  no  gesture  until  the  mind 
prompts  it  to  emphasize  or  illustrate  an  idea. 

There  must  not  be  a  needless  gesture,  nor 
a  meaningless  look.  All  must  fit  and  work  to- 
gether— not  stiffly  and  with  self-consciousness, 
but  simply,  naturally,  and  unconsciously. 
Neither  a  king  nor  an  orator  should  be  lavish 
of  gestures.  The  simplicity  of  the  child  is 
necessary ;  the  slightest  embellishment  weakens 
the  truth.  "Art  when  seen  ceases  to  be  art." 

Oratory  is  the  masculine  of  music,  and  to 
a  certain  extent  is  governed  by  the  same  laws. 

It  must  have  rhythm,  cadence,  measure,  har- 
mony and  at  times  even  melody. 

Manifestly,  such  an  art  can  only  be  mas- 
tered by  great  self-denial  and  perseverance. 

If  years  of  training  and  effort  are  necessary 
to  even  set  foot  in  the  temple  of  music,  far 


ORATORY.  15 

more  is  necessary  to  set    foot    en   the  divine 
platform  of  oratory. 

VOICE. 

Voice  is  as  important  to  the  orator  as  it 
is  to  the  singer,  and  it  must  be  trained  with 
the  same  care.  The  speaker  must  be  able  to 
use  his  voice  with  the  same  facility  that  a 
singer  does,  or  else  his  achievement  will  be 
meager. 

He  must  be  able  to  give  it  any  volume,  any 
pitch  and  any  cadence  he  chooses,  and  to  change 
rapidly  from  one  to  the  other.  While  music 
may  have  greater  melody,  speech  should  have 
equal  harmony.  Measure,  rhythm,  cadence, 
come  unconsciously  to  the  man  who  is  master 
of  his  subject,  has  a  trained  voice,  and  is  sim- 
ple, earnest  and  natural  in  his  speech. 

The  voice  of  almost  every  great  orator  had 
to  be  made.  .  Generally  it  developed  during 
years  of  practice  and  effort. 


I 6  ORATORY. 

In  training  the  voice  it  is  vital  to  follow 
certain  well  established  principles  or  natural 
laws. 

Ignorance  of  these  laws  causes  many  public 
speakers  to  grow  hoarse  in  half  an  hour.  This 
is  because  they  do  not  inhale  deeply,  but  take 
the  breath  from  the  top  of  the  lungs  and  form 
the  voice  in  the  throat.  If  they  would  bring 
the  breath  from  the  bottom  of  the  lungs,  throw 
it  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and  form 
the  voice  with  the  lips,  they  could  talk  half 
a  day  without  feeling  any  inconvenience  in 
the  throat.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  dia- 
phragm must  be  brought  into  use  in  talking. 

Deep  inhalations  develop  the  voice  and  im- 
prove the  health.  Five  'minutes'  exercise  in 
deep  inhalation,  practiced  several  times  a  day, 
will  greatly  increase  the  strength  and  volume 
of  the  voice  and  tend  to  give  vigor  to  the  whole 
system.  Care  must  be  taken  at  first,  so  as  not 
to  produce  dizziness. 


ORATORY.  17 

Then  a  daily  systematic  exercise  of  half  an 
hour  in  sounding  the  different  letters  of  the 
alphabet  must  be  kept  up. 

Familiarity  with  the  scale  in  music  is  essen- 
tial in  this  practice,  so  as  to  be  able  to  distin- 
guish the  different  degrees  of  pitch  readily; 
then  run  the  same  letter  up  and  down  the  scale 
— first  in  a  whisper,  then  in  a  low  tone,  then 
gradually  increasing  the  volume  until  the  ca- 
pacity of  the  voice  is  reached. 

In  all  these  exercises  the  breath  must  be 
brought  from  the  bottom  of  the  lungs  and 
thrown  against  the  roof  of  the  mouth,  and 
the  words  formed  with  the  lips.  Practice  will 
soon  teach  the  speaker  how  to  use  his  lips 
most  effectively. 

It  is  not  only  essential  to  practice  deep  in- 
halation, but  also  to  practice  holding  the  breath, 
and  giving  it  out  at  will.  In  other  words,  learn 
to  husband  the  breath  and  give  out  no  more 
of  it  in  uttering  any  word  than  is  necessary. 


1 8  ORATORY. 

In  music  students  spend  many  months  and 
sometimes  years,  practicing  only  a  few  notes, 
because  when  they  have  mastered  these  the 
voice  is  ready  for  any  service. 

In  this  manner  the  practice  of  sounding  the 
different  letters  of  the  alphabet  should  be  kept 
up,  for  it  develops  the  vocal  organs  to  their 
highest  efficiency. 

The  speaker  must  never  forget  that  there  is 
a  close  connection  between  the  stomach  and 
the  organs  of  speech.  Whatever  affects  the 
stomach  unfavorably  will  at  once  affect  the 
voice. 
TONE. 

In  forming  the  voice  the  principal  object 
is  to  convert  the  breath  into  pure  tone. 

As  in  burning  gas  to  produce  light  and  heat, 
the  object  is  to  get  a  perfect  combustion,  be- 
cause light  and  heat  travel  with  a  velocity 
'  that  gas  cannot  attain, 'and  thus  produce  re- 
sults that  cannot  be  produced  by  gas  in  its 


ORATORY.  ig 

unconverted  form.  So  we  aim  to  get  a  per- 
fect combustion  or  explosion  of  the  breath  into 
tone,  and  the  more  perfect  the  conversion  the 
more  perfect  and  pure  the  tone. 

Tone  or  sound  travels  with  a  velocity  and 
acquires  a  power  that  is  impossible  for  breath. 
A  man  could  hardly  make  his  breathing  heard 
twenty  feet  away;  but  vocalized  it  creates  vi- 
brations that  travel  to  the  gates  of  eternity. 

It  is  therefore  not  a  question  as  to  the  vol- 
ume of  breath  expended,  but  of  the  amount 
perfectly  exploded.  The  amount  of  pure  tone 
formed,  and  its  intensity,  determine  its  travel- 
ing power.  In  a  whistle,  a  small  amount  of 
air  forced  through  a  narrow  opening  and  made 
to  react  on  itself  produces  vibrations  that  are 
felt  miles  away. 

We  frequently  see  people  with  small  chests 
whose  voices  are  clear  and  can  be  heard  a 
great  distance;  while  others,  with  powerful 
lungs,  cannot  be  understood  half  so  far.  This 


20  ORATORY. 

is  largely  due  to  perfect  explosion  of  breath 
into  pure  tone  in  the  one  case,  and  imperfect 
explosion  in  the  other.  The  test  of  pure  tone 
applied  by  musicians  is  to  hold  a  lighted  candle 
to  the  mouth  while  running  the  scale.  If  the 
light  is  not  blown  out  the  explosion  or  con- 
version is  perfect. 

I  have  spoken  only  of  pure  tone,  because  in 
most  cases  this  is  all  that  an  orator  needs. 
When  once  master  of  it  he  can  easily  give 
other  tones,  such  as  the  nasal  and  gutteral. 

ARTICULATION. 

Distinct  articulation  is  the  diamond  of  ut- 
tered speech.  Without  it  there  can  be  no 
sparkling  sentence  and  no  flashing  epigram. 

Without  distinct  articulation,  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  a  speaker  even  when  near  by, 
and  impossible  to  understand  him  when  a  little 
distance  away.  The  audience  has  to  labor  to 
catch  his  words,  and  this  destroys  the  effect. 


ORATORY.  21 

Without  distinct  utterance  it  is  impossible  to 
reach  the  sensibilities  and  arouse  the  finer  emo- 
tions. 

Defective  articulation  admits  of  absolutely 
no  excuse.  Everybody  can  overcome  it  by 
making  the  requisite  effort,  and  no  man  has  a 
right  to  appear  before  an  audience  who  is  not 
willing  to  make  every  effort  that  is  necessary 
to  his  success. 

We  are  told  that  emphasizing  vowels  makes 
words  carry.  While  this  is  true  it  is  no  less 
true  that  unless  the  consonants  also  are  dis- 
tinctly uttered  the  words  cannot  be  understood. 

Daily  practice  in  pronouncing  the  different 
letters  of  the  alphabet  will  rapidly  improve  the 
articulation. 

WRITING  OF  SPEECHES. 

"In  writing  are  the  roots ;  in  writing  are  the 
foundations  of  eloquence." — Quintilian. 

Should  a  speech  be  written  ?  Yes,  emphatic- 
ally, yes.  It  should  be  written  several  times. 


22  ORATORY. 

Should  it  then  be  read  to  the  audience  or 
should  it  be  committed  to  memory?  Neither. 
When  read  it  becomes  simply  an  essay  and 
is  not  an  oration;  and  when  committed  to 
memory  and  then  delivered,  it  is  simply  decla- 
mation and  not  oratory. 

Besides,  unless  a  man  has  a  phenomenal 
memory,  he  will  not  be  able  to  recite  a  speech, 
and  will  break  down. 

What,  then,  is  the  purpose  of  writing  it? 
It  is  to  become  accurately  familiar  with  the 
subject — to  become  steeped  in  it  and  saturated 
with  it. 

We  may  have  a  talking  knowledge  of  a 
subject,  but  when  we  undertake  to  write  upon 
it  we  soon  find  that  there  are  many  things 
which  we  must  investigate  further.  Writing 
upon  a  subject  tends  to  make  it  clear  to  the 
mind.  It  fixes  the  boundaries,  brings  to  light 
the  subdivisions,  their  relative  importance  and 
their  relations  to  each  other. 


ORATORY.  23 

After  we  have  written  upon  a  subject  we 
have  a  more  accurate  conception  of  it  than 
before.  And  when  we  have  written  upon  it 
the  second  or  third  time,  ideas  come  to  us 
that  had  eluded  us  before. 

Though  in  the  end  the  written  copy  be 
thrown  into  the  fire  the  writer  will  be  repaid 
a  hundred  fold,  for  when  he  faces  his  audi- 
ence he  will  be  much  better  qualified.  He 
will  be  more  confident,  and  therefore  more 
aggressive.  Even  if  he  does  not  use  a  single 
sentence  of  what  he  had  written  he  will  make 
a  much  better  speech  than  he  otherwise  could 
have  made.  The  subject-matter  will  be  larger, 
the  presentation  clearer,  and  the  language  more 
elegant. 

After  determining  definitely  what  subject  to 
discuss,  the  best  way  to  prepare  a  speech  is 
to  get  a  definite  idea  of  the  boundaries  and 
natural  subdivisions  of  the  subject  and  the  re- 
lations they  bear  to  each  other.  Having  these 


24  ORATORY. 

things  once  clearly  in  mind  the  subject  natui- 
ally  unfolds  itself,  and  the  speaker  will  be 
carried  along  step  by  step,  without  having  com- 
mitted his  speech  to  memory. 

Accuracy  in  the  use  of  language  will  in 
time  become  a  habit,  so  that  when  the  ideas 
and  their  proper  arrangement  are  once  fixed 
in  the  mind  the  language  will  come  uncon- 
sciously. 

We  sometimes  hear  a  speaker  say  that  he 
does  not  know  what  he  is  going  to  talk  about 
until  he  gets  on  his  feet.  This  is  a  humiliating 
confession.  It  is  an  admission  that  he  has 
not  worked,  and  it  means  that  it  is  impossible 
for  him  to  reach  a  high  standard  of  art.  Gen- 
erally this  class  of  speakers  follow  the  French- 
man's formula  for  writing  a  love-letter :  "Be- 
gin without  knowing  what  you  are  going  to 
say,  and  end  without  knowing  what  you  have 
said." 


ORATORY.  25 

to 
Art  does  not  admit  of  random  touches.     It 

demands  entire  accuracy.  In  music  the  singer 
is  not  permitted  to  be  guided  by  his  feelings 
in  dropping  or  adding  notes ;  the  laws  of  har- 
mony must  be  followed,  and  like  fidelity  is  de- 
manded in  speech. 

The  mere  fact  that  a  speaker  can  work  him- 
self into  a  glow  of  excitement  does  not  by  any 
means  prove  that  he  is  eloquent.  Generally 
this  is  simply  rant  and  wearies  the  audience. 

No  talk  is  eloquent  unless  it  reads  well. 
Literary  excellence  is  the  very  breath  of  elo- 
quence. 

To  attain  this  it  is  indispensable  that  the 
speaker  know  exactly  what  he  is  going  to  say 
and  how  he  is  going  to  say  it.  Otherwise  he 
will  fail  to  make  a  logical  argument,  fail  to 
make  his  sentences  epigrammatic,  and  will  con- 
sume the  time  with  tiresome  repetitions. 

The  fatal  mistake  lies  in  the  assumption  that 
by  working  himself  into  a  glow  of  excitement 


26  ORATORY. 

he  can  deliver  himself  of  ideas,  of  logic  and 
of  language  that  are  not  in  him.  No  man 
can  get  anything  out  of  himself  that  is  not 
in  him. 

All  that  the  inspiration  of  any  occasion  can 
do  is  to  enable  a  man  to  rise  to  his  best. 

Let  it  be  said  again  that  the  inspiration  of 
the  greatest  occasion  cannot  help  a  man  to 
give  an  audience  something  he  does  not  pos- 
sess. He  can  give  it  neither  wit  nor  wisdom, 
neither  learning  nor  eloquence,  neither  pathos 
nor  beauty. 

All  that  can  be  expected  is  that  the  occasion 
may  enable  him  to  give  and  to  do  his  best. 
But  the  stream  will  not  rise  higher  than  its 
source,  and  the  very  best  speech  cannot  get 
above  the  accomplishments  of  the  speaker; 
hence  the  necessity  of  thorough  preparation. 
It  is  an  insult  to  an  intelligent  audience  for  a 
speaker  to  appear  before  it  without  preparation. 


ORATORY.  27 

MESSAGE  TO  AUDIENCE. 

Some  men  are  overwhelmed  by  the  thought 
of  trying  to  prepare  a  speech.  It  seems  so 
different  from  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life. 

The  same  men  could  call  on  a  neighbor  in 
regard  to  almost  any  errand  and  tell  him  their 
mission  without  any  embarrassment. 

Let  such  men  treat  the  prospective  audience 
as  they  would  treat  the  neighbor.  Go  before 
it  on  a  special  errand.  Go  before  it  because 
they  have  something  definite  to  say — have  a 
mission  to  present — and  they  can  talk  to  an 
audience  almost  as  easily  as  to  a  neighbor. 
No  man  should  appear  before  an  audience  un- 
less he  feels  that  he  has  a  special  message  for 
that  audience.  If  he  has  this  feeling,  then 
he  can  make  a  good  speech. 

NEWSPAPERS. 

A  copy  of  a  speech  should  be  furnished  each 
newspaper  when  it  is  desired  to  have  it  pub- 


28  ORATORY. 

lished.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  take  a  speech 
in  shorthand  in  the  average  hall,  late  at  night, 
and  have  it  printed  accurately  the  following 
morning. 

In  the  first  place  shorthand  notes  have  to 
be  taken  in  poor  light.  It  requires  a  relay 
force,  so  that  one  reporter  can  go  and  write 
up  his  copy  while  the  other  continues  to  take 
notes.  The  notes  have  to  be  transcribed  in 
a  hurry,  frequently  in  a  poor  light,  and  as 
many  shorthand  marks  are  very  similar  it  is 
a  matter  of  frequent  occurrence  that  one  word 
is  substituted  for  another.  Then  the  matter 
has  to  be  set  up  in  a  hurry,  when  there  are 
almost  no  opportunities  for  correction.  Every- 
thing has  to  be  rushed. 

Again,  until  an  editor  sees  a  speech  he  can- 
not tell  how  much  of  it  he  wants  to  use.  Gen- 
erally the  forms  for  the  press  are  made  up 
early  in  the  evening,  leaving  only  a  little  space 
for  new  matter  that  may  come  in. 


ORATORY.  2() 

Under  these  circumstances  it  is  unreasonable 
to  expect  a  paper  to  get  and  publish  much  of 
any  address. 

But  if  it  receives  a  copy  of  it  twenty-four 
hours  ahead  of  time  the  editor  can  examine  it 
and  as  much  of  it  as  he  decides  to  use  can 
be  set  up  with  care  and  published  accurately. 

In  such  cases  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  write 
or  print  at  the  top  of  the  front  page  a  note 

stating  that  it  is  "the  speech  of 

to  be  delivered  at  at  the  hour  of 

....  o'clock  on  the  ....  day  of 19 .. 

and  is  released  after  delivery/'  All  honorable 
editors  respect  this  note,  and  will  refrain  from 
using  the  copy  before  it  is  released. 

BREAKFAST-TABLE  AUDIENCE. 

Modern  oratory  has  to  deal  with  an  audi- 
ence that  the  ancients  knew  not  of,  and  that 
is  the  breakfast-table  audience,  which  may  num- 


30  ORATORY. 

her  several  millions,  while  the  audience  at  the 
hall  numbered  only  a  few  thousand. 

To  reach  this  breakfast-table  audience,  the 
orator  must  depend  on  his  facts,  his  arrange- 
ment, and  his  literary  excellence.  Neither  his 
voice  nor  his  actions  can  reach  these  people. 

Unless  there  is  something  above  the  ordi- 
nary in  his  speech  the  editor  will  not  use  it, 
and  the  public  would  pay  no  attention  to  it  if 
he  did. 

The  man  who  wants  his  speeches  published 
must  offer  something  that  rises  above  the  aver- 
age; and  that  average  in  America  is  already 
high. 

LITERARY  EXCELLENCE. 

Literary  excellence  is  the  robe  of  immortal- 
ity without  which  no  speech  can  live.  The 
ideas  may  be  great  and  the  delivery  may  be 
impassioned,  but  if  it  lacks  literary  finish  it 
will  be  ephemeral.  The  breakfast-table  audi- 


ORATORY.  31 

ence  will  not  see  it,  and  by  the  evening  of  the 
morrow  it  will  be  forgotten. 

It  was  literary  excellence  that  saved  us  the 
great  speeches  of  antiquity.  Without  it  they 
would  have  faded  from  the  earth  even  before 
the  generations  that  heard  them. 

Ever-living  principles,  genius  in  arrange- 
ment, and  perfection  of  form,  will  keep  a  speech 
vital  to  the  end  of  time. 

We  are  told  that  the  Greeks  had  no  gram- 
mar. Instead  of  beginning  with  the  rules  as 
we  do,  they  developed  their  wonderful  lan- 
guage by  a  constant  striving  after  clearness, 
brevity,  smoothness,  and  rhythm.  The  eye 
and  the  ear  were  thus  trained  to  demand  ex- 
cellence. The  same  practice  now  will  improve 
any  man's  speech. 
DEMOSTHENES. 

As  an  inspiration  to  the  ambitious  I  quote 
the  following  from  Grote's  History  of  Greece, 
relating  to  Demosthenes: 


32  ORATORY. 

"He  studied  Thucydides  with  indefatigable 
labor  and  attention.  According  to  one  account 
he  copied  the  whole  history  eight  times  over 
with  his  own  hand;  according  to  another,  he 
learned  it  all  by  heart  so  as  to  be  able  to  re- 
write it  from  memory  when  the  manuscript 
was  accidentally  destroyed.  How  much  the 
composition  of  Demosthenes  was  fashioned  by 
the  reading  of  Thucydides,  reproducing  the  dar- 
ing, majestic  and  impressive  phraseology,  yet 
without  the  overstrained  brevity  and  involu- 
tions of  that  historian,  and  striving  to  blend 
with  it  a  perspicuity  and  grace  not  inferior 
to  Lysias,  may  be  seen  illustrated  in  the  elabo- 
rate criticism  of  the  rhetor  Dionysius.  While 
thus  striking  out  for  himself  a  bold  and  origi- 
nal style,  Demosthenes  had  still  greater  diffi- 
culties to  overcome  in  regard  to  the  external 
requisites  of  an  orator.  He  was  not  endowed 
by  nature,  like  Aeschines,  with  a  magnificent 
voice,  nor,  like  Demades,  with  a  ready  flow 


ORATORY.  33 

of  vehement  improvisation.  His  thoughts  re- 
quired to  be  put  together  by  careful  prepara- 
tion; his  voice  was  bad,  even  lisping;  his  breath 
short,  his  gesticulation  ungraceful;  moreover, 
he  was  overawed  and  embarrassed  by  the  mani- 
festations of  the  multitude. 

"The  energy  and  success  with  which  Demos- 
thenes overcame  his  defects  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  satisfy  a  critical  assembly  like  the  Athen- 
ian, is  one  of  the  most  memorable  circumstances 
in  the  general  history  of  self-education.  Re- 
peated humiliation  and  repulse  only  spurred 
him  on  to  fresh  solitary  efforts  for  improve- 
ment. He  corrected  his  defective  elocution  by 
speaking  with  pebbles  in  his  mouth.  He  pre- 
pared himself  to  overcome  the  noise  of  the 
assembly  by  declaiming  in  stormy  weather  on 
the  seashore  at  Phaleron.  He  opened  his  lungs 
by  running,  and  extended  his  powers  of  hold- 
ing breath  by  pronouncing  sentences  in  march- 
ing up  hill.  He  sometimes  passed  two  or  three 


34  ORATORY. 

months  without  interruption  in  a  subterranean 
chamber,  practicing  night  and  day,  either  in 
composition  or  declamation,  and  shaving  one 
half  of  his  head  in  order  to  disqualify  himself 
from  going  abroad.  After  several  trials  with- 
out success  before  the  assembly,  his  courage 
was  on  the  point  of  giving  way,  when  Eunomus 
and  other  old  citizens  reassured  him  by  com- 
paring the  matter  of  his  speeches  to  those  of 
Pericles  and  exhorting  him  to  persevere  a  lit- 
tle longer  in  the  correction  of  his  external  de- 
fects. On  another  occasion  he  was  pouring 
forth  his  disappointment  to  Satyrus,  the  actor, 
who  undertook  to  explain  to  him  the  causes, 
desiring  him  to  repeat  in  his  own  way  a  speech 
out  of  Sophokles  which  he,  Satyrus,  proceeded 
to  repeat  after  him  with  suitable  accent  and 
delivery.  Demosthenes,  profoundly  struck 
with  the  difference,  began  anew  the  task  of 
self-improvement,  probably  taking  constant  les- 
sons from  nature's  models.  In  his  unremitting 


ORATORY.  35 

private  practice  he  devoted  himself  especially 
to  acquiring  a  graceful  action,  keeping  watch 
on  all  his  movements  while  declaiming  before 
a  tall  looking-glass.  After  pertinacious  efforts 
for  several  years  he  was  rewarded  at  length 
with  complete  success.  His  delivery  became 
full  of  decision  and  vehemence,  highly  popular 
with  the  general  body  of  the  assembly,  although" 
some  critics  censured  his  modulation  as  artifi- 
cial and  out  of  nature,  and  savoring  of  low 
stage  effects,  while  others  of  the  same  spirit 
condemned  his  speeches  as  overlabored  and 
smelling  of  the  lamp.  So  great  was  the  im- 
portance assigned  by  Demosthenes  himself  to 
these  external  means  of  effect,  that  he  is  said 
to  have  pronounced  action  to  be  the  first,  sec- 
ond and  third  requisite  of  oratory/'  (Chap. 
87.) 
UTILITARIAN  TALK. 

Outside  of  the  circle  of  oratory  there  is  a 
great  field  of  what  may  be  called  "utilitarian 


36  ORATORY. 

talk."  It  is  the  world's  every-day  talk  of  its 
ordinary  affairs,  including  politics,  business,  re- 
ligion, etc.  It  includes  the  average  speech- 
making,  lecturing  and  preaching ;  and  most  of 
us  are  glad  to  be  even  a  small  factor  here. 

The  American  people  average  higher  than 
any  others  as  all-around  talkers  and  stump 
speakers.  This  is  due  to  the  nature  of  our 
institutions  and  the  fact  that  all  the  people 
participate  in  the  discussions  of  every  public 
question. 

This  utilitarian  talk  is  useful,  important,  and 
even  necessary ;  but  there  is  no  glory  won  here. 
It  is  the  work  of  the  every-day  draft-horse,  in- 
dispensable to  man's  well  being;  but  it  is  not 
the  every-day  draft-horse  that  commands  the 
world's  interest  or  admiration.  He  has  indeed 
done  the  world's  work  and  makes  the  world 
his  debtor,  but  he  does  not  stir  the  blood  nor 
arouse  the  enthusiasm  of  men.  It  is  the  care- 
fully trained  speedy  horse  that  men  go  miles 


ORATORY.  37 

to  see.  Great  speed  is  the  result  of  the  high- 
est training. 

Let  it  be  understood  that  the  so-called 
"strong  speech,"  "able  speech/'  "forceful  talk," 
"excellent  points/'  etc.,  are  all  of  the  draft- 
horse  variety.  They  do  not  rise  to  the  plane 
of  high  excellence;  they  lack  art,  and  do  not 
constitute  oratory. 

The  knowledge  displayed  may  be  ample,  the 
facts  may  be  conclusive,  and  the  fervor  of  the 
talker  may  be  great;  but  so  long  as  exquisite 
arrangement,  elegance  of  language  and  high 
finish  are  wanting,  the  effort  falls  below  ora- 
tory. 

But  let  no  man  suppose  that  a  speech  should 
be  simply  an  elegant  or  nice  affair.  Dillet- 
tanteism  simply  excites  contempt. 

The  idea  I  wish  to  inculcate  in  the  minds 
of  the  young  is  that  they  must  acquire  ele- 
gance of  diction  and  nicety  and  accuracy  of 
expression;  they  must  cultivate  the  voice  un- 


38  ORATORY. 

til  they  have  a  perfect  command  of  it;  they 
must  accustom  the  mind  to  orderly  and  logical 
arrangement;  and  when  they  wish  to  discuss 
a  subject  get  all  the  facts,  not  only  into  the 
mind,  but  into  the  very  blood,  then  pour  the 
whole  soul  into  it,  and  they  will  approach  ora- 
tory. 

ABSTEMIOUSNESS. 

Self-denial  and  self-control  are  essential  to 
achievement.  Great  endurance  is  impossible 
where  there  is  great  indulgence.  Cold  water, 
temperate  habits  and  exercise  give  firm  fiber 
and  a  clear  brain. 

The  appetites  give  no  inspiration  and  kindle 
no  fires,  and  their  free  gratification  weakens 
the  body  and  chokes  the  soul.  Stimulants  do 
not  feed,  they  do  not  build;  they  simply  bor- 
row of  the  future ;  they  simply  consume. 

Oratory  demands  the  greatest  possible  serv- 
ice by  the  higher  faculties.  Where  these  are 


ORATORY.  39 

stupefied  by  indulgence,  or  the  body  is  weak- 
ened by  dissipation,  no  great  height  can  be 
reached. 

All  things  considered  I  should  say  let  liquor 
alone.  Under  no  circumstances  touch  it  just 
before  speaking.  Speaking  is  itself  a  stimu- 
lant; and  if  a  man  is  master  of  his  subject, 
the  mere  act  of  talking  will  soon  make  his 
soul  glow. 

If  in  addition  to  this  he  takes  an  artificial 
stimulant,  the  effect  of  the  double  stimulation 
will  be  to  burn  up  his  vitality  at  once,  and 
at  the  end  of  twenty  minutes  he  will  be  ex- 
hausted and  will  simply  gasp  and  flounder 
through  the  remainder  of  his  discourse. 

If  at  4:he  conclusion  of  the  speech  the  speak- 
er finds  that  his  clothes  are  wet  with  perspira- 
tion and  he  is  exposed  to  danger  of  taking  cold, 
then  a  little  stimulant  may  be  taken  to  ad- 
vantage. 


40  ORATORY. 

But  even  this  must  be  done  with  caution, 
otherwise  the  stimulant  will  burn  up  more  vital- 
ity and  leave  him  in  a  still  more  exhausted 
condition,  so  that  when  he  steps  on  the  plat- 
form the  next  day  he  will  do  inferior  work. 

Avoid  drinking  water  during  a  speech  for 
it  will  injure  the  throat.  Never  wrap  or  muffle 
the  neck  when  out  of  doors  for  this  opens  the 
pores  and  exposes  to  cold.  Simply  turning 
the  overcoat  collar  up  against  it  is  all  the  pro- 
tection it  needs,  and  this  leaves  the  air  free 
to  circulate  around  it. 

The  speaker's  vitality  must  be  treated  like 
a  bank  account.  It  should  be  drawn  on  with 
great  caution  and  then  replenished  at  once. 
A  recumbent  position  is  necessary  for  quick 
restoration.  Whenever  a  speaker  has  an 
hour's  time  during  a  campaign  let  him  go  to 
bed  and  sleep  if  possible. 

The  exigencies  of  his  art  demand  excellence. 
This  requires  the  highest  possible  service  by 


ORATORY.  41 

every  faculty,  and  if  there  has  been  an  expendi- 
ture of  nerve  force — whether  by  labor  or  by 
indulgence — which  has  not  been  completely  re- 
placed, then  some  of  his  faculties  will  not  fully 
respond,  and  the  speech  will  drop  to  the  grade 
of  mere  utilitarian  talk. 

When  on  the  road  during  a  campaign  a 
speaker  must  practice  as  severe  a  regimen  as 
a  prize-fighter  who  is  in  training.  He  must 
be  careful  about  his  diet,  his  sleep,  all  his 
habits.  Otherwise  the  irregularity  and  expos- 
ure incident  to  such  a  life  will  soon  so  jade 
him  that  he  will  give  only  a  common  sort  of 
draft-horse  performance.  He  must  be  as  fas- 
tidious about  himself  and  his  speech  as  a  primn. 
donna  is  about  herself  and  her  song. 

HOSPITALITY. 

When  on  the  road,  speaking  one  or  more 
times  every  day,  a  speaker  cannot  accept  hos- 
pitality. If  he  does  his  speeches  at  once  drop 


42  ORATORY. 

to  a  lower  level.  As  a  rule  if  he  will  lock  the 
door  of  his  room  at  a  hotel  he  can  rest  better 
and  make  himself  more  free  and  at  home  than 
he  can  at  the  house  of  a  friend. 

If,  after  speaking  at  night,  instead  of  going 
to  bed,  he  accepts  an  invitation  to  the  club  and 
chats  for  an  hour  and  takes  a  drink  or  two, 
his  speech  the  next  day  will  be  inferior.  Iso- 
lation is  the  price  of  greatness,  and  the  stars 
are  all  the  friends  an  orator  needs. 

HAND-SHAKING. 

Always  avoid  the  crowd.  Only  candidates 
are  required  to  submit  to  promiscuous  hand- 
shaking. 

A  half  hour's  hand-shaking  before  speaking 
will  so  reduce  the  vitality,  or  take  the  fine 
edge  off  the  nerve  system,  as  to  make  the 
speech  tame. 

Let  the  speaker  constantly  bear  in  mind  that 
the  very  people  who  exhaust  him  with  their 


ORATORY.  43 

hand-shaking  will  not  forgive  him  foi  making 
a  poor  speech.  He  is  there  to  talk,  not  to 
shake  hands.  He  should  never  apologize  for 
being  ill,  or  unprepared.  An  audience  wants 
to  hear  a  speech,  not  an  apology. 

CLOTHES. 

The  speaker  should  be  so  dressed  that  neither 
he  nor  his  audience  will  be  made  conscious 
of  the  fact  that  he  is  wearing  clothes.  He  must 
dress  plainly  and  neatly.  New  clothes  or  very 
poor  clothes  are  apt  to  attract  the  conscious- 
ness of  both  speaker  and  audience,  and  thus 
weaken  the  effect. 

CENSORSHIP  OF  SPEECHES. 

Theatrical  troupes  and  opera  troupes  re- 
hearse almost  daily  in  order  to  keep  up  the  tone 
of  the  performance.  While  this  is  not  prac- 
ticable in  the  case  of  public  speakers,  it  would 
greatly  increase  the  reputation  of  every  speaker 
and  help  his  cause,  besides  benefiting  the  pub- 


44  ORATORY. 

lie,  if  he  could  be  accompanied  by  a  severe 
critic  who  would  carefully  note  his  delivery 
and  afterwards  require  him  to  rehearse  those 
parts  that  were  not  well  delivered. 

When  a  speaker  has  been  engaged  in  a  cam- 
paign for  some  days  his  sentences  get  as  badly 
out  of  form  as  his  body;  and  his  words,  like 
his  clothes,  get  road-worn  and  dusty.  The 
high  finish,  the  delicate  touches,  the  pathos 
and  the  fine  sentiments  disappear.  How  guard 
against  this? 

While  he  must  adapt  himself  to  the  needs 
of  the  occasion,  and  cannot  always  tell  just 
how  much  time  he  will  have  or  what  topics 
he  can  discuss,  he  can  resolve  that  whatever 
he  does  shall  be  done  well. 

When  both  body  and  mind  are  tired  inspir- 
ation lags,  and  a  special  effort  must  be  made. 
The  mind  needs  food  on  the  road  as  well  as 
the  body;  and  it  is  necessary  for  a  speaker  to 
read  each  day  at  least  a  page  of  polite  litera- 


ORATORY.  45 

ture  so  as  to  imbibe  the  spirit  of  the  author, 
or  else  read  a  short  discussion  of  some  great 
principle  so  as  to  get  elevation  of  thought, 
and  thus  keep  his  own  speech  on  high  ground. 

LAWYERS. 

"If  our  sole  material  for  thought  is  derived 
from  law  cases  the  gloss  of  our  oratory  must 
of  necessity  be  rubbed  off,  its  joints  must  grow 
stiff,  and  the  points  of  its  wit  be  blunted  by 
daily  encounters." 

So  wrote  Quintilion  eighteen  hundred  years 
ago,  and  this  language  has  more  force  to-day 
than  it  had  then. 

The  matter-of-fact  proceedings  in  our  courts 
have  a  constant  tendency  to  sink  to  the  level 
of  wrangling,  which  makes  the  countenance 
hard  and  the  mind  crabbed  and  unfits  for  great 
achievement. 

To  overcome  this  lowering  tendency,  the  an- 


46  ORATORY. 

cient  advocates  studied  poetry,  dialogue,  his- 
tory, painting,  sculpture,  nature,  and  whatever 
tended  to  ennoble  the  mind.  Nothing  better 
has  ever  been  suggested,  and  some  such  course 
is  vital. 

Other  things  being  equal  the  lawyer  who 
does  this  will  in  a  few  years  greatly  distance 
his  companion  who  does-  not  do  it,  for  the 
latter  will  not  only  cease  to  grow  but  will 
shrivel. 

It  is  a  fatal  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
business  of  the  courts  no  longer  calls  for  ora- 
tory. The  style  has  indeed  changed,  but  the 
essence  is  as  much  in  demand  as  ever. 

A  clear,  forceful,  eloquent  and  convincing 
talk  to  either  court  or  jury  is  more  needed 
now,  and  will  produce  greater  results  and  larg- 
er rewards,  than  at  any  other  time  in  the  his- 
tory of  jurisprudence. 


ORATORY.  47 

GREAT  SUBJECT— PETTIFOGGING. 

The  subject-matter  of  a  speech  must  be  great 
or  there  can  be  no  oratory.  Great  principles 
of  justice,  of  government,  or  of  human  hap- 
piness, must  be  involved. 

The  speaker  must  appeal  to  what  is  just, 
what  is  elevated,  and  what  is  noble  in  man. 

A  covert  defense  of  wrong,  no  matter  how 
shrewd  or  adroit  or  clever,  can  never  com- 
mand respect. 

Pettifogging  is  always  on  a  low  plane;  in- 
.  stead  of  elevating  and  ennobling  both  speaker 
and  audience  as  oratory  does,  pettifogging 
shrivels,  belittles,  and  degrades. 

No  man  who  is  willing,  for  fee  or  reward, 
for  promotion  or  lionors,  to  act  the  part  of  a 
pettifogger,  can  ever  stand  for  one  moment 
on  the  great  platform  of  oratory. 

Sincerity  and  intense  earnestness  are  the  es- 
sence of  oratory,  and  the  mind  that  is  trained 
to  make  a  plausible  defense  of  a  doubtful  case 


48  ORATORY. 

unconsciously  loses  this  essence.  The  orator 
must  be  absolutely  independent,  even  though 
he  have  neither  bread  to  eat  nor  shoes  to  wear. 
Great  manhood  must  go  with  great  oratory. 

In  America  we  have  a  class  of  men  who 
are  called  corporation  lawyers.  They  are  men 
of  force,  ability  and  shrewdness,  and  are  em- 
ployed by  the  corporations  because  they  are 
recognized  as  strong  lawyers.  (I  am  not 
speaking  of  lobbyists.)  Many  of  these  men 
before  entering  the  service  of  corporations 
gave  promise  of  eloquence,  but  none  of  them 
has  risen  to  the  plane  of  oratory.  Even  when 
brilliant  and  on  the  right  side,  there  is  some- 
thing about  their  efforts  that  smacks  of  in- 
sincerity. While  these  positions  have  been 
sought  because  the  salaries  are  large,  I  believe 
the  judgment  of  mankind  will  be  that  these 
able  men  paid  too  much  for  their  pottage. 


ORATORY.  49 

JUSTICE,  NOT  EXPEDIENCY. 

Justice,  not  expediency,  must  be  the  guiding 
light.  The  orator  must  fix  his  eye  on  the  pole- 
star  of  justice,  and  plough  straight  thither. 
The  moment  he  glances  toward  expediency  he 
falls  from  his  high  estate. 

The  world's  great  pathos  is  orj  the  side  of 
the  masses  who  are  doing  the  world's  work 
and  making  civilization  possible.  They  are 
the  children  of  God. 

The  orator  must  feel  their  sufferings,  their 
sorrows,  and  their  joys.  Here  alone  does  soul 
respond  to  soul. 

The  men  who  eat  bread  that  is  earned  by 
the  sweat  of  other  men's  brows  are  unrespon- 
sive and  incapable  of  high  sentiment  or  deep 
pathos. 

Wealth  and  fashion  may  be  inviting  and  pre- 
sent a  beautiful  picture,  but  the  divine  fires 
do  not  burn  there. 

All  the  great  speeches  ever  delivered  were 


5°  ORATORY. 

protests  against  injustice  and  appeals  for  the 
public  welfare.  Generally  they  were  on  the 
losing  side.  Defeat  is  often  the  baptism  of 
immortality.  James  Russell  Lowell  summed 
up  the  whole  history  of  civilization  when  he 
penned  the  lines : 
"Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,  wrong  forever 

on  the  throne — 
But  that  scaffold  sways  the  future,  and  behind 

the  dim  unknown 
Standeth    God  within    the    shadow,  keeping 

watch  upon  his  own." 
Let  the  would-be  orator  remember  that  he 
lives  but  once  in  this  world,  and  therefore  can- 
not afford  to  waste  any  time  or  effort  on  be- 
half of  injustice,  for  it  will  pull  him  down. 
He  breathes  the  atmosphere  of  the  plane  on 
which  he  stands,  and  if  that  plane  be  low  the 
poisons  will  destroy  him. 

If  he  would  reach  the  highest  estate  possi- 
ble on  this  earth  he  must  stand  resolutely  with 


ORATORY.  SI 

his  face  toward  the  sun;  and  when  the  cry  of 
oppressed  humanity  calls  for  sacrifice,  he  must 
promptly  say,  "Here,  Lord,  am  I." 

REWARDS. 

"But,"  says  a  would-be  orator,  "you  are 
demanding  too  much;  you  require  a  man  to 
be  a  devotee;  you  ask  him  to  lay  all  his  am- 
bitions on  this  altar ;  you  demand  abstemious- 
ness and  self-sacrifice;  you  offer  no  resting- 
place;  you  begin  and  you  end  with  labor. 
What  is  the  reward  you  offer?  What  is  the 
harvest  you  promise  ?  In  what  temple  of  fame 
shall  we  abide,  or  where  among  the  stars  shall 
we  dwell?" 

Oratory  offers  the  acme  of  human  delight; 
it  offers  the  nectar  that  Jupiter  sips;  it  offers 
the  draft  that  intoxicates  the  gods,  the  divine 
felicity  of  lifting  up  and  swaying  mankind. 
There  is  nothing  greater  on  this  earth.  Tis 


52  ORATORY. 

the  breath  of  the  Eternal — the  kiss  of  the 
Immortal. 

Oratory  is  far  above  houses  and  lands,  offices 
and  emoluments,  possessions  and  power. 

While  it  may  secure  all  of  these  it  must  not 
for  a  moment  be  classed  with  them.  These 
things  offer  nothing  that  is  worthy  of  a  high 
ambition.  Enjoyed  to  their  fullest,  they  leave 
you  hard,  wrinkled,  and  miserable.  Get  all 
they  can  give  and  the  hand  will  be  empty, 
the  mind  hungry,  and  the  soul  shrivelled. 

Oratory  is  an  individual  accomplishment, 
and  no  vicissitudes  of  fortune  can  wrest  it  from 
the  owner.  It  points  the  martyr's  path  to  the 
future ;  it  guides  the  reaper's  hand  in  the  pres- 
ent, and  it  turns  the  face  of  ambition  toward 
the  delectable  hills  of  achievement.  One  great 
speech  made  to  an  intelligent  audience  in  favor 
of  the  rights  of  man  will  compensate  for  a 
life  of  labor,  will  crown  a  career  with  glory, 
and  give  a  joy  that  is  born  of  the  divinities, 


ORATORY.  53 

IS  ORATORY  DYING  ? 

On  the  contrary,  it  is  growing  in  favor  and 
in  importance.  At  no  time  in  the  history  of 
the  world  did  men  listen  as  eagerly  as  they 
do  in  America  to-day. 

The  newspapers,  instead  of  destroying  ora- 
tory, simply  prepare  the  ground  for  a  higher 
order  of  eloquence.  They  educate  the  public 
as  to  the  facts,  and  thus  partially  relieve  the 
speaker  of  dry  detail,  so  that  he  can  devote 
himself  more  largely  to  a  discussion  of  prin- 
ciples than  he  otherwise  could  do.  At  the 
same  time  they  multiply  his  audience  by  the 
thousand.  Once  the  speaker  reached  only  the 
people  before  him;  now  he  reaches  millions 
in  addition,  so  that  the  orator  can  now  wield 
an  influence  that  heretofore  was  impossible. 

True,  it  increases  his  labor.  He  must  charm 
not  only  his  hearers,  but  also  delight  his  read- 
ers. 


54  ORATORY. 

The  universal  intelligence  among  the  people, 
and  the  presence  of  cultivated  women,  have 
tended  to  give  high  character  to  public  meet- 
ings and  to  place  them  far  above  the  audiences 
of  antiquity. 

Neither  Demosthenes  nor  Cicero  ever  saw 
such  inspiring  audiences  as  greet  the  modern 
orator. 

DEMOCRACY. 

Oratory  is  the  child  of  Democracy.  It  is 
the  product  of  Free  Institutions;  it  grows  in 
a  republic,  it  withers  in  a  despotism. 

Wherever  the  citizen  can  publicly  discuss  the 
affairs  of  government  and  participate  in  their 
control,  there  oratory  flourishes;  and  where 
he  is  denied  this  right  there  the  stillness  of 
the  ages  creeps  over  the  land. 

Glancing  down  the  highway  of  nations,  we 
find  that  oratory  first  illuminated  the  skies  of 
Greece,  while  democratic  institutions  prevailed 


ORATORY.  55 

there.  Then  its  flame  was  seen  in  the  democ- 
racy of  Rome. 

During  the  eighteenth  century  oratory  burst 
forth  in  England — then  the  only  country  that 
was  struggling  toward  constitutional  govern- 
ment ;  and  France  produced  some  great  exam- 
ples of  forensic  power  at  the  beginning  of  her 
Revolution. 

In  Ireland  it  subsequently  became  a  mighty 
protest  against  injustice  and  oppression. 

But  it  remained  for  America  to  give  to  the 
world  the  highest  form  of  the  impassioned 
speech  of  freedom.  Here  oratory  has  been 
carried  to  greater  heights  than  anywhere  else 
in  the  modern  \vorld. 

Looking  over  the  world  to-day  we  see  that 
not  even  a  whisper  comes  from  the  Orient, 
while  the  vulgar  hand  of  brute  force  has  choked 
free  speech  to  death  and  silenced  the  voice  of 
oratory  in  the  entire  basin  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, where  it  was  once  great,  and  where  with 


56  ORATORY. 

the  decadence  of  oratory  came  the  degradation 
of  the  nations.  Twenty-seven  years  ago  there 
was  a  spasmodic  effort  to  establish  a  republic 
in  Spain,  and  the  world  heard  the  eloquence  of 
Castelar;  but  despotism  triumphed  and  degen- 
eracy followed. 

On  the  continent  of  Europe  a  brutal  official- 
ism, that  eats  the  bread  earned  by  the  toil  of 
others,  perpetuates  injustice  and  wrong  by  fill- 
ing the  prisons  with  the  men  and  the  women 
who  dare  appeal  to  a  higher  law  or  speak  of 
the  rights  of  man. 

It  is  the  English-speaking  nations  that  keep 
alive  the  divine  flame  of  oratory,  and  it  is 
this  fact  that  makes  them  an  invincible  force 
in  the  world. 

The  golden  ages  of  the  world  were  the  ages 
of  democracy  and  oratory;  and  the  most  bril- 
liant pages  of  every  country's  history  were 
written  when  the  voice  of  free  discussion  was 
heard  in  the  land.  No  people  ever  reached  a 


•      .  ORATORY.  57 

high  development  among  whom  this  voice  was 
not  heard;  and  every  people  that  strangled  it 
soon  sank  into  degradation  and  misery. 


ORATORY  DEVELOPS  ORATORY. 

As  wit  develops  wit,  so  oratory  develops 
oratory.  The  orator  must  wrestle  with  the 
orator,  or  he  will  not  become  great. 

Pericles  was  surrounded  by  a  group  of  men 
who  disputed  every  proposition  and  contested 
every  inch  of  ground  with  him. 

Demosthenes  had  to  meet  a  number  of  men, 
some  of  whom  were  considered  his  superiors. 

In  Rome  oratory  reached  its  highest  excel- 
lence in  the  days  of  Cicero,  who  lived  among 
a  group  of  great  orators. 

In  England  Chatham  had  to  meet  men  who 
taxed  all  his  wonderful  resources.  Pitt  was 
confronted  by  Fox,  Burke,  and  Sheridan. 

The  French  group  of  orators  comprised  the 


58  ORATORY. 

men  whose  names  are  forever  linked  with  the 
Revolution. 

In  America  Patrick  Henry  met  fierce  debat- 
ers in  the  Assembly  and  the  Courts  of  Virginia. 

Samuel  Adams  and  James  Otis  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  galaxy  of  brilliant  speakers  in 
Massachusetts. 

At  a  later  period  in  our  history  Daniel 
Webster,  Henry  Clay,  and  John  C.  Calhoun 
were  not  only  contemporaries,  but  were  also 
members  of  the  United  States  Senate.  The 
great  emancipation  orators,  headed  by  Phillips 
and  Sumner,  were  confronted  by  men  of  rare 
ability. 

REPETITION. 

As  a  rule  no  speech  is  transcendently  great 
when  first  delivered.  While  repetition  of 
words  or  arguments  in  the  same  speech  is 
abominable,  repetition  on  different  occasions 
gives  power. 


ORATORY.  59 

All  the  great  speeches  of  which  we  have  any 
knowledge  were  the  result  of  repetition. 

After  the  orator  had  discussed  a  question  a 
number  of  times  and  from  various  standpoints, 
until  it  cleared  and  ripened  in  his  mind,  then 
some  extraordinary  occasion  arose  which  gave 
him  the  opportunity  and  the  inspiration  to  com- 
bine all  his  knowledge  and  power  into  one 
supreme  effort. 

Before  delivering  his  oration  on  the  Crown 
Demosthenes  had  discussed  every  one  of  the 
subjects  involved  many  times. 

Patrick  Henry  had  delivered  the  same  speech 
a  hundred  times  to  a  hundred  different  audi- 
ences before  he  overwhelmed  the  Assembly  of 
Virginia  with  its  fire. 

Before  delivering  his  celebrated  reply  to 
Hayne,  Daniel  Webster,  on  numerous  occa- 
sions, had  discussed  every  one  of  the  points  in- 
volved. In  fact,  he  had  made  a  speech  in  the 
Senate  on  the  identical  subject  only  a  few  days 


60  ORATORY. 

before;  and  while  this  speech  was  able,  as  all 
his  efforts  were,  it  attracted  no  attention. 
Finally  the  opportunity  came  which  furnished 
him  the  inspiration  to  combine  all  his  argu- 
ments, and  enabled  him  to  reach  the  heights  of 
eloquence  that  were  impossible  on  the  prior 
occasions. 


PERICLES. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  of  this  paper  to  give 
biographies  of  orators,  for  it  would  require 
volumes;  but  we  point  a  finger  toward  one 
mighty  model. 

Looking  at  a  few  of  the  names  that  stand 
out  in  bold  relief  against  the  sky  of  history, 
we  see  "Pericles"  burning  in  letters  of  living 
light,  the  greatest  man  of  antiquity,  and  in 
some  respects  the  greatest  orator.  For  twenty- 
three  hundred  years  this  name  has  been  a  bea- 
con to  the  sons  of  men. 


ORATORY.  6l 

During  this  time,  a  thousand  great  captains 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  Croesuses  have  come 
and  gone,  and  the  world  welcomed  their  rid- 
dance and  forgot  them ;  but  every  century  adds 
to  the  luster  of  Pericles. 

He  was  warrior,  statesman,  philosopher, 
orator;  more,  he  was  liberal,  progressive,  and 
humane ;  but  greater  still,  he  possessed  an  inde- 
pendence and  a  lofty  graudeur  of  soul  that 
illumined  his  age  and  all  subsequent  ages;  a 
sublimity  that  lifted  him  above  his  contempo- 
raries and  his  successors. 

Look  at  these  words  taken  from  the  funeral 
oration  which  he  delivered  over  those  who  had 
fallen  in  defense  of  their  country:  "Their 
glory  shall  never  die ;  the  whole  wide  world  is 
their  sepulchre;  their  epitaphs  are  written  in  the 
hearts  of  mankind,  and  wherever  there  is  speech 
of  noble  deeds  their  names  are  held  in  remem- 
brance." 

Nothing  ever  written  under  the  inspiration 


62  ORATORY. 

of  even  Chaldean  skies  surpasses  this  in  gran- 
deur. 

He  was  born  and  reared  an  aristocrat,  but  his 
great  intellect  and  progressive  spirit  led  him  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  common  people.  He 
became  the  leader  of  the  democracy  and  made 
it  a  ruling  power  for  half  a  century,  creating  an 
Athenian  splendor  that  has  dazzled  the  world. 
He  gathered  about  him  the  philosophers  and 
the  learned  of  his  time,  and  thus  made  the  gold- 
en age  of  Greece.  He  not  only  fortified  Athens, 
but  he  beautified  her. 

During  his  administration,  most  of  those 
•  marvelous  structures  were  erected  that  have 
excited  the  admiration  of  mankind  for  thou- 
sands of  years.  He  employed  the  immortal 
sculptor  Phidias  in  this  work,  and  by  this  act 
alone  he  made  the  world  his  debtor. 

Pericles  was  denounced  in  his  time  as  a 
demagogue.  He  was  vilified,  maligned  and 
abused  by  the  rich  and  aristocratic  class.  They 


ORATORY.  63 

threw  his  friend  Phidias  into  prison,  and  forced 
Pericles  to  go  in  person  into  court  and  defend 
the  accomplished  Aspasia,  yet  he  pursued  a 
lofty  and  dignified  course  throughout  his  en- 
tire life,  constantly  pointing  the  people  to 
higher  standards.  He  was  retiring  and  simple 
in  his  habits,  and  loved  the  charms  of  a  refined 
home  so  much  that  he  spent  all  his  time  there 
when  not  engaged  in  the  public  service. 

It  is  said  that  in  his  whole  life  he  attended 
but  one  evening  entertainment,  preferring  to 
spend  that  tinue  studying  or  conversing  with 
cultivated  friends.  In  order  not  to  grow  too 
common,  he  spoke  in  public  only  on  great  oc- 
casions. 

His  speeches  were  prepared  with  scrupulous 
care.  Before  rising  to  speak  he  used  to  pray 
that  no  inappropriate  word  might  fall  from  his 
lips.  He  was  called  the  greatest  of  Grecian  or- 
ators. "The  range  and  compass  of  his  rhetoric 
were  wonderful,  extending  from  the  most  win- 


54  ORATORY. 

ning  persuasion  to  overwhelming  denuncia- 
tion." 

While  Demosthenes,  who  came  nearly  a 
hundred  years  later,  had  more  action  and  more 
force  in  his  delivery,  Pericles  surpassed  him 
in  grandeur;  and  the  flame  of  his  eloquence, 
as  seen  through  twenty-three  hundred  years, 
is  whiter. 

The  people  who  called  Pericles  a  demagogue 
died  and  were  buried,  and  the  very  dust  that 
covered  them  is  lost.  Even  the  chimney-tops 
of  their  houses  possessed  more  of  immortality 
than  they. 

Pericles  died  and  was  buried;  and  for  more 
than  two  thousand  years,  the  scholars  and 
statesmen  and  philosophers  of  earth  have  stud- 
ied his  career  with  admiration  and  profit;  and 
to-day,  more  than  twenty-three  hundred  years 
after  his  death,  the  great  marching  columns  of 
humanity  halt  not  only  to  listen  to  the  charm  of 
his  oratory,  but  to  gaze  at  the  ruins  of  that 


ORATORY.  65 

Athens  that  was  built  by  this  demagogue  and 
his  prison  friend,  Phidias. 

CONCLUSION. 

No  age  in  the  world's  history  ever  offered 
such  allurement  to  ambition,  or  such  a  field 
of  usefulness,  as  this  age  offers  to  the  orator; 
for  he  can  sway  not  only  his  hearers  but  the 
civilized  world. 

Would  he  tread  the  heights  of  the  ideal? 
Then  here  is  the  path  of  the  martyr,  thorny 
and  blood-stained,  but  glorious.  Would  he  di- 
rect the  vintage  of  his  own  time?  Then  here 
is  the  vineyard  of  humanity  calling  for  men. 
Is  he  ambitious?  Here  is  the  force  that 
shakes  the  continents  and  thrills  the  nations, 
that  rides  upon  the  centuries  and  sports  with 
the  ages.  Here,  like  Pericles'  heroes,  he  can 
write  his  epitaph  in  the  hearts  of  mankind,  and 
have  the  whole  wide  world  for  a  sepulchre. 

THE    END. 


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